"I'm always on the lookout for 'good people,' I've liked to say as my mantra for hiring. And for a long time that meant smart, passionate people with very similar experience to mine.

The first, and only, season I watched of The Apprentice was an exercise in fascination and disgust. Though I hated the cut-throat attitude of some of the candidates on the show and was repulsed by the Donald's approval of people who were the perfect blend of kiss-ass and emotionally vacant, I learned some hard lessons about recruiting. All is not fair in love and hiring: Sometimes you just need people who can get the job done.